Kakadu Sunset (16 page)

She flicked her boss a curious look as she left the office.

Kane was in the hangar checking over the helicopters when Ellie walked in after grabbing a coffee at the bistro on the way back. Despite her feelings, a flurry of butterflies flitted around in her stomach. He reached up to wipe a mark off one of the windscreens and warmth shimmied straight down to her lower belly as the muscles in his arms flexed.

‘They’re both right to go up.’ He jerked his head towards the two helicopters. No ‘good morning, nice to see you, great sex,’ but she was okay with his business-like greeting. He’d set the tone and she was more than happy to follow along.

‘I might be a great pilot but I’m not that good.’

‘What do you mean?’ He leaned against the doorway into the office, pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped his hands.

‘Taking both birds up at once.’ She stared at him. The black T-shirt defined the muscles on his chest but, thank God, they were covered this morning. She kept her eyes away from his biceps as he threw the rag onto the workbench.

‘Look about last night, I wanted to say –’

Ellie cut him off before he could finish. ‘I know. It was a mistake. Don’t worry it won’t happen again. Not wise when we have to work together.’

He shrugged and disappointment flooded her as she wondered what he’d been going to say. ‘I think you’ll have to change your mind about flying. Have you seen the bookings for this morning?’

‘Yeah, I have.’ He returned her gaze, but without a smile. ‘But you know what? That’s not my problem. I told you I was hired as an engineer. I won’t be taking any flights up. Not today. Not this week. Not
ever
. Talk to the boss if you don’t like it.’

‘I’ve already talked to the boss.’ Ellie leaned casually against a table, striving for nonchalance. She let the words hang in the air for a moment. You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. They were two different people from the man and woman who had sought pleasure in each other’s bodies a few hours ago. She lifted her chin a fraction higher and held the intense gaze that was being levelled at her. ‘You
are
a qualified pilot.’

‘Sure am.’ Now there was a glimmer of a smile around his mouth and she held back the angry words that rose to her lips. The bastard was enjoying this.

‘Military.’

‘Clever lady.’

‘No, Jock told me.’ She folded her arms. ‘So what’s the big deal then?’ Ellie kept her voice level. ‘Are you going to fly here at all?’

‘That,
babe
, is not your problem.’ He turned away slowly as the gate opened and a middle-aged couple walked in.

‘Hey there.’ The guy had an American accent and he held his hand out to Kane. ‘Steve and Jodie Wallace. You’re taking us up at ten-thirty.’

Kane shook the guy’s hand and then gestured to Ellie with a cat-that-got-the-cream smile. ‘Good morning, Steve. I’m the engineer. Miss Ellie here is your pilot.’

Ellie damped down her frustration as the guy looked at her with a sceptical frown. Every few days she encountered tourists who wanted a male pilot but she’d got used to it early on. Whoever said sexism was dead?

‘Hey, Steve, Jodie. Come with me and we’ll get the paperwork going. Lovely morning to go up.’ Ellie forced the happy tone into her welcome chat as she led them towards the office, ignoring the wink that Kane gave her as she passed him.

Bastard
. She ignored the temptation to poke her tongue out. He really brought out the worst in her.

*

Kane was pissed off. On top of his confusion over why Ellie had left his room with no explanation – and had so easily dismissed it as a one-night stand – guilt burned in his gut every time she took off with another load of tourists. Just how many bloody people wanted to see Kakadu from the air anyway?

It wasn’t his problem that Jock had stuffed up and hired him. Kane had made it quite clear when he’d been interviewed on Skype that he wasn’t flying these days. Whether Jock had misunderstood, or whether he’d thought Kane would change his mind when he saw the set up here at the lodge, didn’t matter. His contract stated it in black and white: he was the engineer. The looks Ellie had directed his way shouldn’t have bothered him, but they did. She’d taken seven flights back-to-back from ten-thirty; she hadn’t even stopped for a lunch break. He made sure the other chopper was ready and waiting as soon as she came down each time. And he looked after each group as they arrived and had the paperwork done so all she had to do was take them up. She smiled and chatted to the tourists but the occasional glances she flicked his way were hard to read. She was as prickly as all hell with him.

Kane shrugged; the last thing he wanted to do was hurt anyone, and Ellie’s vulnerability had already tugged at him. It had been a big part of the attraction last night. Something hard within him had softened a little when she’d drifted off to sleep with her fingers curled in his. He’d lain there for a long time watching her sleep before he drifted off.

It was bad enough that he hadn’t gone to her when he’d woken up alone in his bed. As the sun cleared the horizon, he’d jerked awake to the noise of machine gun fire. Before he could make a fool of himself, he pulled on his sweats and went for a long run.

He was too damaged to inflict himself on anybody. Ellie deserved better. Someone she could rely on; he was not going to connect with anybody. Maybe he’d been an absolute louse the way he’d treated her today but she was right – sleeping together had not been a good move.

I’m not worth it
.

Monday afternoon
Makowa Lodge

By the time Ellie touched down after her final flight, she was exhausted. Seven back-to-back tours on top of the late night and shock of the break-in had left her frazzled. Despite that, she decided to go back to the farm to have a look at what was happening at the river boundary. Flying over it again today had made her more determined to find out what was going on. The gash in the land was wider than it had been on Thursday; it almost reached the South Alligator River that bordered the national park. As she flew over on the last trip, a flash of silver had caught her eye. She dropped a little lower and peered down. There was a series of pipes sitting vertically in the ground very close to the river. Funniest looking dam she’d ever seen, no matter what Panos said.

‘Thank you, that was fabulous. We might do another one tomorrow.’ The last couple gave her a wave as they headed across the tarmac to the gate and Ellie secured the chopper.

There was no sign of Kane and she ignored the twinge of disappointment that hit her when she glanced over to the hangar. The roller door was down and bolted. He’d already turned the fuel pump off and everything else was in order.

Glancing at her watch, she dug in her pocket for her car keys. Rather than going back to her apartment and getting changed, she decided to go straight to her car. She’d put the phone on hands-free and make a few calls until the phone dropped out of service.

The wind was picking up and the clouds were scudding across a bright blue sky. Ellie loved this time of the year. She took a deep breath as she hurried across the car park; it was good to be away from the smell of avgas. The humidity was low and the air was tinged with the smell of the burning grass around the lodge. She grinned to herself; spot on. It was only yesterday she’d seen the flowering Darwin woolly butt down at Heather and Bill’s telling the indigenous people it was time to ‘clean the country’.

The highway was busy and she had to wait for a few vans and RVs to pass before she turned north. Gina’s number was programmed into her phone and she pressed the shortcut button and put it onto speaker before she picked up speed.

‘Hi Gina, it’s your nursemaid calling. I’m so sorry I’ve not called in to see you yet. How are you enjoying your stay?’

A soft laugh came down the line. ‘It is fine, Ellie. I don’t expect you to babysit me – no matter what David said.’

‘How about I come over after dinner? I have a chore to run this afternoon but I should be back about seven or seven-thirty.’

Gina’s laugh trilled over the phone. ‘No, you really don’t want to. It’s like a zoo over here then. Bath and bedtime. It’ll turn you off kids for life. I’m planning an early night with my Kindle. I’m fine, really.’

‘How about lunch on Wednesday? I’ve got a couple of hours off in the middle of the day.’ Ellie had taken note of the schedule when she’d pulled it up earlier.

‘Honestly, you don’t have to look after me. We’re fine.’ Gina sounded a bit embarrassed.

‘No, I’d love to get to know you. How about I meet you at noon? It’ll be a nice break from all the flights we’ve got on this week.’

‘Okay, then. I’ll look forward to it.’

‘I’ll call if anything changes. Bye.’ She disconnected and frowned. One call down, one to go. Clearing the air with Heather was a priority, but not something she really wanted to do over the phone. But it couldn’t wait – she’d be finished work by the time Ellie got back. And her friendship was too important to let things get worse.

She hit the shortcut button and waited for Heather to answer as her car sped towards Jabiru.

*

‘Bill!’ Terry threw an apologetic glance Kane’s way and leaned over close to the older Aboriginal guy at the back of an air-boat. They were inside a shed in the enclosed compound at the back of the lodge, and the boat was propped up on a long timber ramp that led down to the river.

‘What?’ The old guy lifted his head and stared at them. A dead roll-your-own was wedged between his lips and he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Kane.

‘This is Kane McLaren,’ Terry said. ‘The new mechanic over at the flight centre. Jock sent him over to help you.’

Kane held out his hand as Terry turned back to him. ‘Kane, this is Bill Jarragah, my uncle.’

The old guy finally straightened and held a filthy hand out to Kane. ‘Don’t need help.’ His voice was gruff.

Kane nodded and shook his hand, ignoring the smear of grease transferred to his fingers. The guy’s hands were as filthy as the stained overalls he wore.

‘I thought you were having trouble with the motor?’ Terry shook his head as Bill turned back to the boat.

Bill grunted and ignored them.

‘Jeez, Uncle Bill. What’s put the bug up your arse this week? You’ve been a real cranky old bugger lately.’ Terry rolled his eyes at Kane.

‘I’ve sorted it.’ Bill lifted his head again and gestured to the workbench that ran along the side of the shed. ‘So quit your jabbering and pass me a thirty mil spanner.’ Whether it was the problem with the motor or another problem he’d sorted was not clear.

Kane looked around the workshop, barely holding back a shudder. Every surface was covered with tools, bits of pipe and assorted pieces of metal, and the floor was littered with junk. It was a workplace safety nightmare and he was surprised. The rest of the lodge – the parts he’d seen – were immaculate. Even the gardens around the staff car park down the back were well cared for. This workshop was an accident waiting to happen. If the hangar had looked anything like this, he would have turned on his heel and walked out last week, contract or no contract.

To his surprise, Terry crossed to the end of the bench, reached into the assortment of junk and pulled out the required spanner.

He shrugged as he handed it to Bill and looked guiltily at Kane. ‘Bit of a mess in here. Jock’s given us till the end of the month to get it back in order but we’ve been flat out with the crocodile management and the monitoring for salvinia.’

‘Salvinia?’ Kane hadn’t heard of it.

‘It’s a noxious floating weed. We help out the national park blokes with spotting it when we’re out in the air-boats.’

Kane nodded and looked around. ‘If you want a hand with the clean up, I’ve got some spare time. When I’m not rostered on anywhere else that is.’

‘We’d appreciate any help we can get, hey Bill?’

Another grunt from under the boat.

Kane wandered over to a second boat that was propped up at the front of the shed. He bent down to look at the motor and Terry followed him over.

‘Really interesting set-up, these boats. I haven’t seen one of these up close before. Is that a V8 engine?’

‘Yep, they have automotive engines in them. You’ll have to come out for a spin one afternoon. They get a good speed up.’ Terry lowered his voice. ‘Don’t be put off by the mess. Bill’s a damn good worker, but he stretches himself too thin. He represents our people on a lot of committees. He’s a good man.’

‘Ah, ya fuckin’ bastard.’ The clang of a spanner hitting the wire frame around the motor brought an oath from the lips of Bill, and Kane raised his eyebrows as he grinned at Terry.

‘Do you think we should offer to help again?’

‘Worst he can do is crack the shits with us.’

They walked back over to the air-boat. It was good to be in male company. He missed the bond he’d had with the guys in the military. The friendships that were forged there drew similar characters together. Black and white outlooks, aggressive personalities and a workplace where expletives like Bill’s filled most conversations.

Bill accepted their help without comment and by the time he let out a grunt of satisfaction, long afternoon shadows were filling the large open shed. ‘Thanks. Appreciate it.’

‘Coming for a beer, Bill?’ Terry wiped his hands and then passed over the piece of rag and Kane took it over to the sink in the corner.

‘Dad?’ The gate clanged shut and Kane turned around from the sink. Heather hurried across to the boat where Bill was topping up the oil. ‘Can I get a lift home with you? My car’s ratshit.’

Kane dropped the towel and walked out of the dark corner, and Heather smiled apologetically when she spotted him. ‘Ah, I mean it won’t start.’

Terry’s white teeth flashed and Kane hid a smile.

‘Hi, Heather.’ He stood beside the boat and looked down at her. ‘What’s wrong with it? Would you like me to take a look at it?’

‘If you’ve got time that would be great.’

Bill straightened and wiped his hands on the front of his overalls. ‘If you want to come home with me, you’ve got fifteen minutes.’ For the first time since Kane and Terry had come into the workshop, Bill chuckled. ‘But I’m warning you, I had a few roos in the wagon yesterday and it’s got a bit of a stink up. No whinging on the way home, okay?’